cleaning

The flowers are blooming, the temperatures are rising, and you are cleaning. Right? I know, I know, it can be daunting to start a task so big as Spring cleaning. Where should you start? Should you try to knock it all out in one day? Should you hire someone to help you? While everyone’s case is going to be different, I’m going to do my best to make Spring cleaning as easy as possible for you. Here goes nothing!

First things first, you’ll want to sit down and make a calendar for yourself. Maybe that looks like one day a week for the next four weeks, or maybe it’s every day for one week straight. Whatever works best for you! Just be sure to make it achievable so you can actually follow through with your schedule. Remember, this step is supposed to help you get organized, not to overwhelm you.

Once you have your schedule in place, start assigning rooms or areas to each respective day. I firmly believe that it’s important to divide the work amongst spaces in your home–ie: one day you’ll focus on the kitchen, while another day you’ll work on your closet. If your closet is a beast, then you may even want to divide it up across two days. Again, this is your schedule and your plan, so make it work for you!

Next comes the purging. As you approach each space in your home, really try to look at each piece critically–if you haven’t used an ice cream scooper in the past five years, chances are you can toss it without hurting anyone’s feelings. Similarly, if there are expired foods, be sure to toss those as well. Getting rid of items you don’t need in your life is a crucial step to cleaning your home; I promise you that once your shelves are less cluttered, you’ll instantly feel lighter.

Last but certainly not least is the most fun part–the cleaning! Well, maybe not the most fun but certainly the most rewarding. We all have our own cleaning preferences, but I really love method products for all of my dusting, spritzing, and wiping needs. Just put on some great music and clean away!

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It’s no secret that I love doing laundry, and I’ve even written about tips to making it more fun. Even though it can be a big chore on your to-do list each week, in my opinion there’s no better feeling than an empty hamper and a closet full of all your favorite clean clothes.

Because I do laundry about twice a week–once for darks and once for lights–and wash both my and my boyfriend’s clothes, it was super important to me to find a detergent that complimented both of us. I was searching for something with a light, gender neutral smell and ingredients that wouldn’t wear out our clothes.

One day as I was perusing the aisles of Whole Foods, I stumbled across Ecover’s lavender field laundry detergent and immediately loved the smell. I’ve now been using it for a few weeks and am super pleased with the results, so it might just stick around for a while.

What are your favorite laundry products or best-kept secrets? Share in the comments!

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After a long day, there’s no worse feeling than opening the door to your home only to find that a mess awaits you. Sure, sometimes there’s no way to avoid this—like if you had a really late night or had a friends over—but as often as possible, I strive to keep my apartment feeling fresh and clean. Here’s how I do it:

Set a cleaning schedule: A few months back, I shared my cleaning checklist that I follow religiously. Just pick a day that works best for you and deem it your cleaning day. Turn on your favorite music, buy some colorful cleaning products, and tidy away.

Be open to touch-ups: Maybe you spill some milk on your counter or you go to the beach and leave your entryway all sandy. Whatever the case, your home is likely to need some touch-ups here and there between your weekly clean day. Typically, I vacuum my entryway, sweep my bathroom, and wipe off my countertops and kitchen table once between clean days. I know, I know—you’re thinking, ‘ugh, more cleaning?’ But trust me, this will only make your once weekly cleaning day easier!

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I am seriously all for a good closet cleanse and like to do one several times a year. As I do them so often, my cleanses are typically on a smaller side (ie: I’m not purging half of my closet each time), but are super effective nonetheless.

A little bit ago, I blogged about the KonMari method to tidying up, and my method to a closet cleanse is super similar. And easy! And fun! Just like laundry. Ok, that’s enough plugging of past blog posts.

Really, a closet cleanse doesn’t need to be this super daunting thing that you need to allot a full twenty four hours to complete. Sure, it can be this intense if you’d like it to be, but it can also be very straightforward if you follow three simple steps.

Step 1: Cleanse. As a first step, it’s important to go through everything in your closet and get rid of what you don’t wear/need/want/etc. Think about it this way – you want to start with this step so you can really focus on what you love and not waste your time folding/hanging the items that you’re just going to end up discarding.

Step 2: Consistency. As a second step, you want to ensure you have consistency in your closet. What I mean by this is you’ll want all of the same type of hanger. You’ll also want all of your pants in one section of the closet, all of your shirts in another, and do not let them blend. For a list of my favorite closet accessories, check out this post.

Step 3: Color code. As a third and final step, you will color code! Think of this as the fun part as you make all of your clothes form a pretty rainbow in your closet. Start with light colors and make your way to dark. For a complete guide to color coding, check out this post.

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I love Spring time for so many different reasons – my birthday, the nicer weather, the days getting longer, and of course, the opportunity to rummage through all of my drawers and have no one judge me for it!

Spring is the perfect chance to set aside some time to review your possessions, mostly because everyone else is embracing it and getting into the “Spring Cleaning” mindset. Start large as you gaze across rooms as a whole and pick out items or things that can go if they aren’t serving you. Then get smaller as you go through cabinets, drawers, closets, etc.

For a complete Spring Cleaning strategy, be sure to check out this post.

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When it comes to cleaning, it’s important to have a plan of attack so you don’t feel like you have an entire house ahead of you but very little energy. Lucky for you, I’ve outlined this plan of attack!

Every week:

-Laundry: Clothes, sheets, and towels.

-Dusting: All surfaces in your home, such as the kitchen table.

-Cleaning the floors: This may include vacuuming, mopping, or both.

-Clean the bathroom(s): No explanation needed!

-Clean the kitchen: Focus on the big things, such as the sink and counters.

Every month:

–Clean the windows: If you invest in a squeegee, then this task isn’t so bad!

-Dust high reach places: Including but not limited to light fixtures, top of cabinetry, and doorways.

-Detail the kitchen: Pay close attention to the fridge and the oven.

Every year:

–Clean furniture: To do this, make sure you have proper cleaning supplies safe on your fabrics.

-Laundry detailing: Once a year, you’ll want to wash items like your mattress pad and duvet. You can also dry clean your rugs and curtains about once a year.